Costa Rica: a new party promises to legalize cannabis

Parliamentary elections will be held next February in Costa Rica, and a new political party is promising to legalize adult cannabis use.

The Party Let's go, Rafael Nadal’s favorite motivational chant, takes a very progressive stance: access to medical abortion, same-sex marriage, constitutional reform to make Costa Rica a secular state, and the legalization of cannabis for Costa Ricans and tourists.

«Today, cannabis use is not a crime, but cultivation and distribution are,» explains the party leader Margarita Salas.

«There is already a bill in the Parliament on Medical Use, but we want to amend it to include recreational use.» She adds that her party also wants to amend certain provisions of the current bill, which states that cannabinoids are chemical compounds, even though they are natural.

She also wants to add the option of growing one’s own cannabis to the proposal. The medical cannabis bill would authorize associations or licensed producers to grow cannabis, but Salas also wants to include personal cultivation for personal use.

On the sales side, she envisions a network of retail outlets across the country. «I’d like retail sales to be a combination of private and public sellers. I really like the system now based in Uruguay, and which regulates state-licensed distributors. Just as we regulate alcohol and tobacco, for example.»

Costa Rica is one of the most progressive countries in Central America. If it were to move forward with cannabis regulation, it would, in fact, be the first in the region to do so. But according to Salas, the stereotypes surrounding cannabis use have kept it illegal.

«There are a number of moral issues surrounding the legalization of cannabis, and there shouldn’t be. Extensive scientific evidence has shown that this substance does not produce any of the side effects that other psychoactive substances cause. Cannabis is not harmful to health and does not pose a threat,» she explains.

She adds that criminalizing cannabis is «an unnecessary interference by the government in the private lives and choices of its citizens.».